Additionally, the delusions must not be attributable to the effects of a substance or other medical condition.Īnger and violent behavior may be present if someone is experiencing persecutory, jealous, or erotomanic delusions. People with delusional disorder typically function well aside from their delusion(s) and do not exhibit obviously odd or bizarre behavior. If the individual is to be diagnosed with delusional disorder, any manic or major depressive episode he or she has suffered must be brief in duration relative to the delusional periods. Alternatively, nonbizarre delusions reflect situations that occur in real life, but are not actually happening in the life of the person with the delusion. These delusions can be considered bizarre if they are clearly not possible and peers within the same culture cannot understand them. The primary feature of delusional disorder is the presence of one or more delusions that persist for at least one month. Onset can vary from adolescence to late adulthood but tends to appear later in life. Delusional disorder is equally likely to occur in males and females. Even so, this condition is rare, with an estimated 0.2 percent of people experiencing it at some point in their lifetime. The most frequent type of delusional disorder is persecutory. Unspecified: An individual's delusions do not fall into the described categories or cannot be clearly determined.Mixed: An individual exhibits delusions that are characterized by more than one of the above types, but no one theme dominates.Somatic: An individual believes that he or she is experiencing physical sensations or bodily dysfunctions, such as foul odors or insects crawling on or under the skin, or is suffering from a general medical condition or defect.Persecutory: An individual believes that he or she is being cheated, spied on, drugged, followed, slandered, or somehow mistreated.Jealous: An individual believes that his or her partner has been unfaithful.Grandiose: An individual believes that he or she has some great but unrecognized talent or insight, a special identity, knowledge, power, self-worth, or relationship with someone famous or with God.Erotomanic: An individual believes that a person, usually of higher social standing, is in love with him or her.There are several different types of delusional disorders, and each type captures a particular theme within a person's delusions. Also, these delusions are not due to a medical condition or substance abuse. Delusions may seem believable at face value, and patients may appear normal as long as an outsider does not touch upon their delusional themes. If a person has delusional disorder, functioning is generally not impaired and behavior is not obviously odd, with the exception of the delusion. Delusional disorder is distinct from schizophrenia and cannot be diagnosed if a person meets the criteria for schizophrenia. An example of a nonbizarre delusion is the belief that one is under police surveillance, despite a lack of evidence.ĭelusional disorder refers to a condition in which an individual displays one or more delusions for one month or longer. An example of a bizarre delusion is when an individual believes that his or her organs have been replaced with someone else's without leaving any wounds or scars.
Delusions are considered "bizarre" if they are clearly implausible and peers within the same culture cannot understand them. Delusions are fixed beliefs that do not change, even when a person is presented with conflicting evidence.